


A Proper Test of Merit

by prettyboydoctor



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, Friends to Lovers, Kind of slow build, M/M, Ryan is russian, There's a nine year age difference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:30:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5487092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyboydoctor/pseuds/prettyboydoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan thinks Ray needs some hand to hand combat training.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Lesson

Ray had been in the crew for a little over a month, and while he always escaped any scuffle unscathed, Ryan thought that some hand to hand combat training was important. Ray had insisted that he'd be fine without it- he was a sniper after all, he was always on a roof. But Ryan wouldn't drop the issue.

Nearly a week after Ryan had first suggested it, here Ray was, standing on a wrestling mat waiting for the mercenary to show up. He was nervous, understandably so, but he knew Ryan was probably right and that he needed some training. Not like he'd ever admit that- Ray valued his pride too much.

Eventually Ryan walked in, face devoid of a skull mask and clear of paint, his dirty blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail. He was hot, Ray couldn't deny that, but he was untouchable; always in the mask or face paint. Seeing him without it was a little surreal and Ray had to hide his surprise. He greeted Ray with a small wave as he set his stuff down and walked over to the mat, standing in front of the sniper. 

"Let's do this," Ray said, overly eager.

"Okay, hold on," Ryan said, his accent seeping through just slightly, "First I need to see what you already know." He put up a hand, held out like for a high five and nodded towards it, "Punch it." He said to Ray.

Ray looked apprehensive, "You sure, man? You don't wanna put a glove or something on first?"

Ryan shook his head, "There isn't any gloves while on a job."

Ray shrugged and moved his fist forward and punched Ryan's hand as hard as he could. Ryan didn't even flinch, so he tried again, this time pushing off a little with his back foot.

Ryan nodded approvingly, "Good. You can throw a punch. That's a start." He smirked slightly and then moved Ray's hands up to his face, one by his chin and the other up a little higher. He adjusted the lad's feet and then nodded, "This is your defensive stance. Never leave your neck or face open during a fight. Move your weight to where you're on the balls of your feet and can move easily," Ryan instructed and Ray adjusted his stance a little. Ryan nodded again, "Yes, like that. Move your center of gravity down lower."

"Okay, sorry," Ray said, looking up at Ryan and straightening out of his stance a little, "What the fuck does that mean?" He deadpanned. Ryan spoke english as a second language and still managed to confuse Ray with some of the things he said.

"Make it harder for someone to push you over," The mercenary replied with a smirk and moved a hand to push at Ray's shoulder; "Like this," he said and then pushed just slightly.

Ray went down like a sack of bricks and glared up at Ryan from the floor, "What the hell?" He asked. Ryan stuck his hand out, offering it to Ray to help him get back up. He took the hand and stood up, getting back into the stance again and trying to do whatever the hell Ryan had told him to do.

Ryan nodded, pushing at Ray again, though this time the lad stayed on his feet after a little stumble. "Good job," he praised with a smile.

The rest of the lesson went like that, teaching Ray how to stand so he didn't fall over and how to hold his hands up to protect his face.

When they were finished, Ryan handed Ray a bottle of water with a grin, "You did good today. Much better than I thought. We'll do it again next week and I'll actually teach you how to take someone down."

"How long are we gonna do this for?" Ray asked after he chugged half of the bottle water, panting slightly. He didn't mind the lessons going on for a while- as long as it meant that he got to spend some time with Ryan. The mercenary had always been a mystery to the crew, coming from Russia and just showing up at Geoff's apartment. Ray wanted to get to know him better, purely for work reasons of course.

Ryan shrugged as he picked up his bag and got ready to leave the room, "Until I'm confident that you'll be okay." He said and then left, leaving Ray to wonder what the hell that meant.


	2. After the First Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week leading up to their next lesson is a little strange.

The week after the first lesson is a little strange. Ray notices himself staring at Ryan a lot more, he hangs out with the mercenary more now, too. Ryan also starts to request that him and Ray go on more jobs together. Geoff doesn't mind sending them on jobs together, in fact he prefers it. Ray and Ryan always get shit done- far more than if he were to send Ray and Gavin on a job together or Ray and Michael. The lads are great as friends but as co workers they can't get anything done. 

One day, a Saturday where there wasn't much to do, Ray was sitting on the roof of the crew's penthouse. He loved rooftops- whether he was on the job or not. He thought they were calming, and usually he was up there alone. But today Ryan had followed him up, sitting beside him but not saying anything. Ray didn't break the silence either, he was perfectly content just sitting there. At some point he pulled out a joint and lit it up, offering it to Ryan who politely declined. Ray shrugged and took a drag for himself.

After being on the roof for an hour, Ray finally spoke up, "Why did you want to teach me how to fight?"

Ryan shrugged, "Good skill to have in this line of work."

"But why? I haven't needed to know before now," Ray replied.

"Before now, you worked as a sniper, correct?" At Ray's nod, Ryan continued, "You were always on a roof. Now you're in a crew that preforms larger jobs and at some point you may need to be on the ground."

Ray nodded, "I guess that makes sense. If I'm being honest, I never wanted to be in a crew. I've always worked better alone. But then Michael called me and I never could say no to him."

"I understand. I never liked big crews either- always after power or blood. But Geoff's different than most crew bosses. He isn't after money or power, he's just after the adrenaline rush. But, the money and power is definitely a plus, I'm sure," Ryan chuckled, short and genuine.

Ray couldn't help but smile softly, "It's kinda like a little family, you know?" He joked.

Ryan grinned, "Семья , которая убивает вместе остается вместе," He said, his accent very thick with his mother tongue.

"What's that mean?" Ray asked, slightly awed. Ryan never spoke Russian in front of them. Not on purpose, at least.

"A family that kills together stays together," He smirked slightly.

Ray chuckled, nodding, "Well, I agree."

They sat on the rooftop for a little while more before going back down. The rest of the week went like that, weird little interactions that led Ray to believe that maybe Ryan just wanted to keep him safe. But that was crazy, right? He figured he'd find out soon enough, and he did a week later at their next lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me any tips anyone has for writing Russian in an English fic.

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to continue this, but there are too many ideas in my head for it that it's hard to get on paper. Any constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks for reading!


End file.
